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Nicknamed "Hero of Yaguajay", Cienfuegos was a key commander in the Cuban rebel army, along with Che Guevara and Jaime Vega

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The son of Spanish immigrants, Cienfuegos was born in the Cuban capital in 1932, during the reign of dictator Gerado Machado. Cienfuegos was only one during the sergeants revolt and thus spent his impressionable years under the Batista regime. Camilo's father was a tailor and thus, he did not grow up with riches and lead him to dropping out of a prestigious fine arts school (pictured below) for financial reasons.

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Camilo was first politically active during the bus fair risings in 1948, but his interest grew over the course of his higher education. After dropping out of the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro", Cienfuegos visited the US on a 29 day visa but stayed until an immigration official kicked him out months later. While in the US, Camilo wrote articles for Cuban exile newspaper, "La Voz de Cuba", expressing his dislike for the current government.

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Once back in Cuba, Cienfuegos actively participated in underground student movements against Batista. It was during his participation in these events that led the police to abuse him, ending with police shooting his leg, which forced Camilo to return to the US. It was in New York where he first heard about a revolutionary force gathering in Mexico, headed by Fidel Castro. As legend tells it, Camilo secured the last spot on the yacht to Granma only because he was so thin and small framed.

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As a veteran of the arrival in Granma, Cienfuegos quickly became one of Castro's most trusted allies in Sierra Maestro. By the time that the rebels had started making substantial victories, Cienfuegos had been promoted to Comandante and had charge of his own troops. During the battle of Yaguajay was when Camilo's heroics were most notably on show, it was in this legendary victory that Cienfuegos is said to have "killed the enemy and caught his rifle before it hit the ground". During the revolutionaries historic attack on Santa Clara, Cienfuegos lead one of the three columns into the victory that lead Batista into exile from Cuba.

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Cienfuegos' status as the "Hero of Yaguajay" lead him to national popularity in Cuba. During his short lived role as Chief of Staff of the Cuban Armed forces, Cienfuegos was seen as a quality leader to many and whose popularity was often suggested to be higher than the Castro brothers, despite his lack of sophistication and political knowledge

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On October 28, 1959, it was announced that Camilo's flight from Camagüey to Havana, aboard a Cessna 310, had disappeared and all passengers were presumed dead.
Cienfuegos death however has long been the topic of theories that suggest that the very popular revolutionary who was not a communist, was either taken or assassinated by the Castro government.

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Through his high profile role in the revolution, Cienfuegos achieved a cult status throughout Cuba along with close friend Che Guevera and Jose Marti. This status and Camilo's personal ideologies have lead many Cubans who don't support the communist government, to suggest that he would be a more appropriate leader for Cuba than Fidel and now Raul. In this extent, Cuban schools teach Camilo as a hero who disappeared and children are left to hope that one day, an old Cienfuegos will be found in the jungle, ready to unite the leadership of Cuba.
It is on the anniversary of Cienfuegos death that his popularity is seen most vividly, each year thousands of Cubans flock to Havana's beaches to release flowers into the ocean for their national icon.

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During a speech at a barracks turned school, Fidel Castro stopped and asked Cienfuegos how his progress was. Cienfuegos' response "You're doing fine, Fidel!" became a rally cry for the revolution and continues to this day to be associated with Cuban patriotism.